Belly Dance in Singapore
There’s not a lot that you can’t find in Singapore. That’s what happens when you’ve been a major world port for centuries, you get to know people. Singapore is extremely well-connected with the world at large, and at times the culture here is so far ahead of the rest of us that it seems to be the world at large. There is a splendid sense of multi-cultural dimensionality here, where the major influences, Chinese, Malay, and Indian, meld with other influences from Asia and the rest of the world. Pop culture is big here, of course, and in large part that’s due to the close ties to Japan, where most of the best of the world’s pop culture originates. There is also a spectacular taste for fine art, excellent design, and beautiful things in general.
When checking into your hotel in Singapore, most guests don’t think about learning belly dancing, but that might just be because they haven’t looked. There are many different studios where you can learn this old art form, and become part of what seems to be a craze here. But that may be an exaggeration, because it seems as though many things become crazes here, and that might actually just be a reflection of the amazing array of things you can find in this city state.
However, there’s no doubt that bellydance is here, and it’s likely been here for a very long time. Singapore is a place of many layers, and there’s always more than what meets the eye. It’s possible to explore every surface for years without knowing the existence of the one that lies just beneath it, and that’s one of the most exciting things about contemporary Singapore. In bellydance, the art form certainly originated in the Middle East, and has gone through multiple modifications since it first began. It’s impossible to know for sure exactly when, and exactly why, it began, but for participants as well as observers, it’s simply a good thing that it is here.
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